Script Salon's Playwright Showcase Special Edition

Script Salon is a monthly reading series of new plays in Edmonton, ongoing since 2014. Our readings typically showcase one full-length play per evening, but for our March, April, and June 2027 readings, we wish to host special edition readings with an emphasis on professional development for playwrights and greater awareness of Alberta talent for the public.

Our reading on March 14, 2027, will showcase student playwrights from the University of Alberta. It will feature three short plays by students that have been previously read at the University of Alberta’s New Works Festival in January. Participating in Script Salon is the next step in the students’ play development, since Script Salon gives them a professional setting for play development and reading. Students will also be introduced to further play development resources, such as those offered by Alberta Playwrights Network. The student playwrights, actors, and directors would be paid for their work, making this a first professional credit for many of them, as well as connecting them with a wider audience.

Our reading on April 11, 2027, will be a night of monologues for the 14th anniversary of Script Salon. It is a Script Salon tradition to host monologue readings for our anniversary, and this year we would like to raise greater awareness of the monologue form by recording the readings. The recordings will be posted on Alberta Playwrights Network’s website, allowing listeners from anywhere in the world to hear monologues by Alberta playwrights. We will select monologues from an open call, and anticipate receiving work from both emerging and experienced playwrights, in a variety of theatrical styles and forms. In keeping with the celebration and promotion of the monologue form, we will also offer a workshop in the afternoon before the reading on How to Write a Monologue. Playwriting workshops outside universities are scarce in Edmonton, and this gives local playwrights the opportunity to work on their skills.

Our reading on June 11, 2027, will feature excerpts of plays from Edmonton’s Women’s Writing Circle (WWC). The WWC has both emerging and experienced playwrights as members, bringing a wide variety of forms and styles to the reading. This reading allows the group to showcase their progress and see how their work resonates with an audience. This may be a first reading for some members of the collective, providing a valuable professional development experience.

Up to 23 Alberta playwrights will have their work read before an audience during these readings, obtaining a valuable development opportunity for their work. Playwrights looking to refine their skills, or anyone interested in playwriting for the first time, will benefit from the monologue workshop.

Audiences attending the readings or listening to the monologue recordings will also benefit by connecting with work in many forms and styles, including work from student and emerging playwrights that they may not have been exposed to otherwise. This is an opportunity for the audience to connect with new Alberta talent.

While we have hosted readings from playwrights all across Alberta, since these readings include University of Alberta students and the Edmonton-based Women’s Writing Circle, the majority of playwrights will be Edmonton residents. Playwrights from outside Edmonton may be selected for the April monologue night.